Savin' Me
by Claire Chase
Summary: Never in a million years did I image this happening...to me, of all people.
1. Chapter 1

Never in a million years did I imagine this happening…to me, of all people

Like most of my stories, this just started out as getting a writing spark out of my head to continue on with writing the rest of my stuff, but it spiraled into a full blown fan fiction of its own accord. So, without further adieu, here's my latest story.

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Sky High in any shape or form.**

_**Savin' Me – Chapter 1**_

"Bella, can you take my shift tomorrow?" Kate asked me, poking her head into the kitchen. I picked up a towel, wiped off my hands and threw the towel in the hamper as Kate came in further.

"Yeah, sure thing," I told her, picking up one of the trays. Kate picked up another of the trays.

"Thanks so much Bell," she sounded full of relief. "It'll mean so much to Matt." Kate started dating Matt a few months ago. The two are quite the pair. Kate's about normal height and adorable, with brown hair and eyes to match. Matt is one of the tallest people I've ever seen with blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She's completely and entirely infatuated with him and is very sensitive when you tease her about it. It's best not to mention that to her. Anyways, Matt's also in love with her to no end. He's discussed proposing to her before with me, but nothing much, only what kind of a ring would she like, is she the hopeless romantic type who'd want a romantic dinner, down on one knee, etcetera, etcetera or if she would prefer something simple, just like a walk through the park and him confessing his love and holding out the ring. It's really quite sweet when you think about it. I shot Kate a smile as we headed to the main room. "All right kids, snack time!" Kate's always good at getting the kids attention. She's one of those loud people and the kids love it. "Go to your tables!" The kids quickly assembled to their spots and looked up expectantly. Kate took one of the tables and began handing out the snacks from the eager kids. I looked at the other table; all of them smiled at me happily. I gave them all a smile and began to pass out the cups of trail mix.

I'm used to working with the really little ones, you know, from less than a year old to nearly two. They need consistency and I like the peacefulness. Those are usually the quieter, less rowdy kids where you could just put in a movie or read a book and they'd be happy as could be. The older kids aren't too bad, but they can get a little rowdy for my taste.

"Miss Bella?" Claire asked. She's one of the cutest kids here. She always calls me Miss Bella. Of course, Claire's pretty short, but she's got that adorable little kid blonde hair, usually pulled into pigtails, and big, hopeful blue eyes. She's also the most innocent and caring.

"Yes Claire?" I smiled at her. It's hard to not love Claire. Kids in general are adorable, but Claire takes the cake.

"What are you doing tomorrow night?" she stared up at me.

"Now why do you ask that?" I kneeled down next to her.

"Tomorrow's Friday and Miss Katie's doing something." As much as I love Claire, she always knows what's going on and how adults act. Her parents are high profile people who always party on Friday night and Saturday night. It's rather sad in my mind, but Claire's always so happy and loves her parents unconditionally.

"Well, I'll be here with you guys."

"But don't you want to go out or spend time with your boyfriend?" Claire looked sad. She always wants people to be happy and live life to the fullest – a philosophy she learned from her parents.

I gave her my biggest smile. "Well, I don't have a boyfriend, Claire, but I'd rather be here with you guys anyway." I ran my hand over her hair. Claire pouted a little. I laughed at her innocence. "Oh, don't worry about me. I like being here with you and all the others on Friday nights."

"Do you like it or love it?"

"I love it." Most parents think I'm lying when I say that. What's sad is that it's the truth. The last time I saw any of my friends was graduation three years ago when we parted ways. The people I talked with now either worked here or were under the age of five. Luckily, they never sent me up to the floor where they had the older kids. I love working here and that's all there was to it. "You have fun Claire." I stood up and grabbed the tray.

"Where are you going?" Claire began to panic.

"Relax – I'm just going to work with the younger kids. You'll see me tomorrow."

"Can you tell Abby I say hi?" she perked up instantly. Her little sister Abby is another one of those adorable children and is like a little mini Claire.

"I can certainly do that." Claire's smile got to its widest point. I left the room, dropped the tray in the kitchen sink, and washed my hands before going into another room on the floor. This was the room for the littlest children, the babies. Some who were over a year old smiled, while some ran over and latched on to my leg.

"Miss Bella?" Abby stared up at me with the same eyes as her sister. "Can we watch Aladdin?" That was her favorite movie in the world, just like Claire's was Beauty and the Beast when she was this young.

"Of course we can." Abby let go of my leg and took my hand. The other kids let go and followed in a mob towards the television. All of them plopped down in front of the television as I put the movie in. It was like they'd entered a trance or something, the way they all watched the movie.

"Bella?" Robert called from across the room. I looked down at Abby. She was so engrossed in the movie that she wouldn't realize if I left. I went to Robert. He's probably the most caring guy I've ever met. He's worked here about a year longer than I have, is fairly tall with brown hair and blue eyes. Robert's always loved his job here and been great with the kids. Kate's always wanted Robert and I to go out, but it just doesn't seem to work when you're similar type people. We all know – Kate's been there and done that more than once. He was cradling a baby who was probably about six months old at least. "I've been trying for half an hour to get this little guy to sleep and he just won't."

"What's his name?" I asked, holding out my finger for the baby, who grabbed hold of it tightly.

"Zachary." Robert held the baby out in front of me. Gently, we transferred Zachary from one to the other. Zachary had deep blue eyes that stared up at me. As carefully as I could, I bounced him up and down and rocked him back and forth. He let out a little yawn but still stared up at me. Robert sighed, unsatisfied.

"I'll give it a shot." I smiled at him. "Don't worry about it." Robert smiled widely and went over towards the engrossed children. I hooked my foot around the leg of a rocking chair. I should have figured it was one of the stupidest ideas of the day, but I wasn't thinking. I started to fall forward, holding the baby close protectively, and shut my eyes. The next thing I knew was that Robert was holding me up.

"Always careful Bella, huh?" he laughed at my stupid mistake. "I'll get the chair where you want it."

I smiled, still feeling guilty. "I was going to pull it up behind the back section of kids." Robert placed the chair where I was dragging it and returned to tending for the babies, some of whom were crying. I sat in the chair and began to rock back and forth, glancing between the television and Zachary. He still stared at me with those blue eyes. "Aw, come on, you know you want to sleep," I told him softly and soothingly. Nothing seemed to work, so I just kept rocking and watching the movie. Halfway through, I glanced down again and he was breathing slowly, fast asleep. Carefully, I got up from the chair and headed for a crib. Robert looked at me incredulously. He mouthed what looked like, "Are you kidding me?" I nodded and put Zachary in a crib.

"I don't know how you do it," Robert told me softly, smiling. I laughed a little. He was always so sweet and complementary. "You're awesome with kids."

I smiled back at Robert. "If you work here, aren't you, too?" Robert let off a laugh. His laugh was rather deep and was always a fantastic sound to hear. "Come on, you're great with everyone, even those above the age of five." He laughed again.

"Hey, don't you get off in five minutes?" he glanced at the clock.

I looked at it. Sure enough, it was five minutes 'til seven. "Yeah, I guess so." I flashed him another smile.

"Matt and Kate wanted me to go with them to Chipotle after we got off, but it'd be much more fun if you came along too. Plus, I'm not sure if I can stand the lovebirds all through dinner," Robert teased me. Every Friday night, this would happen. Matt and Kate always went out with some friends for dinner and then maybe a club or some place. "So, would you like to partake of the Friday night out?"

I laughed a little. Robert was also very lightheaded. "Well, my dad and brother intended to live off of left over food tonight before the game, so I guess I could…as long as the club part is optional – I have Kate's shift tomorrow." A parent walked in to pick up their child for the night. Both of us looked over at them while they searched for their child's face. I looked back at Robert and leaned on the crib. "Plus – I'm not too big of a fan of late night partying anyway," I teased him. I knew for a fact that Robert was also not a fan of partying.

Robert chuckled a little. "Well, then I guess we can just let Matt and Kate do the partying with his friends." He glanced at the parent again. "I should probably attend to that, but we'll meet up with Kate outside the locker room doors." Robert gave me a smile and went to the opposite end of the room.

Yep, we have a locker room at a daycare center. When you work at a large one in Maxville that's the size of a building a medium sized business could use, you sort of need one. Something tugged at my jeans. I looked down at Abby and smiled while kneeling down. "Hey Abby, what's up?"

Abby gave me those big eyes again. "You left the movie, Miss Bella. It's not over," she pouted a little. Oh, dear sweet little Abby.

"Well, how about we go back to the movie then?" I asked her sweetly. She gave me the biggest smile, grabbed my hand, and dragged me as only a little girl could back to the television. I sat down next to Abby and watched Aladdin with her. Four more minutes until I got off, but that was providing Abby would let me.

_Please review! Hope you enjoyed!_


	2. Chapter 2

Never in a million years did I ever imagine this happening...to me, of all people.

So…reviewers seem to be in short supply. Well, I can't blame you all. So far, there's no Sky High characters. However, here they come! Enjoy!

**DISCLAIMER: I own-eth not…eth.**

_**Savin' Me – Chapter 2**_

It was nearly 6:30 at night. I smiled as Claire and Abby, the last two, left with their parents. They waved happily, Claire holding her father's hand and Abby holding her mother's. Saturdays, most kids were at home with their parents; but, if you were from a high power family like Claire and Abby, you usually spent Saturdays and occasionally Sundays with daycare workers. Most who work here were upset with the fact that parents couldn't spend a full weekend with their children and resented working here over the weekends, but I don't really mind. Well, when you don't have anyone to spend the weekend with, I guess you don't mind. I went ahead and put away the last of the toys before going to the locker room and grabbing my purse and jacket. I went out the front door and locked it behind me. All the other doors were locked all day unless you flashed your work pass to the scanner. We're about the only place in Maxville with this much security, but we've got kids who could escape and too many doors to go around and lock up at night. Plus – it keeps the kids safer if we keep all but one door locked, and that door is always monitored. No one gets in through any door but that one.

The cool night wind felt great on my skin as I walked down one of the busiest streets in Maxville, heading home. It may be an apartment, but it is home. I've lived there since I graduated from high school in Maxville, for college and a job, as well as independence. I began to reminisce about it while walking. Cars were honking at others, people were walking down the streets towards restaurants and apartments. I rarely thought about the times before I came here. They were rather…complicated. Anyways, you were never really in danger downtown because people were always out, even at four A.M. I never felt in danger walking down this street. I looked around for Kate, Matt, or Robert. They all lived downtown too, so we usually saw each other when we didn't mean to.

I walked past an alley. It was one of the few that were hardly lit in Maxville. When I first moved here and saw it for the first time, I ran right by it after all of the horror stories I'd heard about the city. After a few years of living here, I've gotten so used to it that I don't even think about it. Something rustled in the alley. I didn't want to glance down the alleyway, but my brain told me that it could be a baby left in a box or a missing child. So, I let my heart take hold of my sensibility and I glanced down the alley. Sure, there were boxes and all since it was an alley, but I really didn't see anything. "Hello?" I called down the alley. "Is anyone there?" They had to respond if they were there. There was more rustling.

I realize how dangerous and stupid this sounds, but I didn't think about it at the time. I glanced around the street. There were people all over. I'd be okay, I figured. I took a step into the alley. It rustled again. I started down the alley a bit more. "Hello?" I paused and silence resounded back. "Are you okay…whoever you are?"

"I will be," a voice mocked from behind me. It was definitely male. I whirled around. I hadn't realized that I'd gone so far down the alley. The sun was setting…far away. He was much taller than me and very, very frightening. My instincts told me to run, but my body stood frozen as he stepped closer. My eyes went wide with fear. "Oh, don't be afraid," he sneered. "I won't hurt you…too horribly." My breathing quickened and I couldn't think straight. Slowly, my feet moved backwards, away from whoever this was. It was getting darker.

What was I supposed to do? I mean, I'd never really thought about this before. I was frightened. All I could think about was Garrett and Dad. I couldn't just disappear off the face of the earth! And what about Kate and Robert? I loved working with them and I didn't want to not be able to! I could never see Claire and Abby again! They were so sweet and pure and brilliant and I wanted to watch them grow up and become amazing young people! My heart was racing quickly. I wished that there was some way to reverse our positions so that if I had to run, I could run out of the alley into downtown.

He stepped closer and closer. His height was more menacing than I thought and it didn't help me that he was merely a silhouette with any features barely visible. I tried to steal a glance at the back of the alley out of the corner of my eye. All I could see was dark red, nearly black brick and boxes lining the walls. My limbs were rigid and nearly refused to move. I tried to coax my legs to move in backwards steps, away from him. "Please, don't do this," I pleaded. I realized later how stupid it was to act helpless and beg him for mercy, but I thought that it would work well, along with some psychology. "You don't want to do this…"

"Oh really? Why do you say that?" his voice was sharp and scary. He took a few steps closer to me. "You're afraid…"

"I'm not," I tried to assert myself and sound as confident as I could.

"The fear in your eyes is…seductive in a way," he continued on, ignoring my claim. His fingers grasped at a few wisps of my hair. A fresh surge of panic raced through me like a quick acting drug. My breathing was heavier and I wasn't going to hide it. "It almost makes me…" he leaned closer, "…think that you want it."

I could feel that my eyes widened in shock and my heart pounded against my rib cage, trying to tear free of its confines. I was frozen in place like a statue. "What makes you think she wants it?" another male voice called out. This one was deep and authoritative. It should have seemed like a relief, but more fear pulsed through my body. This man was working with him was all that I could assume. That frightened me more.

The first man turned around to look at him. I took the opportunity to move further away from him in some pitiful attempt to escape. My foot landed on a section of bubble wrap, immediately sending a popping noise into the edgy air. The first whirled around to face me. I mentally condemned the person who'd ever thought that a packaging material made with hundreds of air bubbles was a good idea. "Oh, you didn't think you were going to get away that easily, did you?"

I wasn't quite sure what happened. I was pretty sure that the second man dove towards the first. Sirens sounded in the distance. The police were coming. I needed to get away and fast. Slowly, I started back again, adrenaline pulsing through now, preparing me for a quick escape. They began to fight each other, distracting both from my presence.

It was too dark to see anything now. The only thing I knew was that there were two men; the one who had seemed so creepy and ominous and another. There was a flash of fire-like light. Oh my god. Someone fired a gun. That's the only explanation. I needed to get out of there. I began to back up, preparing to run again. One of the men fell down. I could see flashing lights hit the edge of the alleyway. They'd assume I was involved. Someone got shot! It was a given. I started to run.

Footsteps echoed behind me. It had to be the police. That fact only made me run faster. The person's hand latched on my arm. I tried to shake the person off. It would only make it worse but I didn't care. His grip tightened. I slipped on a piece of slick ground and began to fall forward. My head hit something hard; maybe a box or something solid. I could feel the person's arms wrap around me and extreme heat as things turned black.

_Once again, pretty please review! Yes, it's a shorter chapter. The first one was sort of to introduce our characters that aren't from Sky High. So, hope you enjoyed!_


	3. Chapter 3

Never in a million years did I imagine this happening…to me, of all people

Never in a million years did I imagine this happening…to me, of all people.

Here's another chapter. Hopefully you guys can figure out who Flame is.

**DISCLAIMER: Only own Bella.**

_**Savin' Me – Chapter 3**_

By the time I came to, it was dusk outside. The room was dimly lit by the falling sunset and a lamp somewhere else in what I assumed was my apartment. I must have been asleep for a whole day. Dad would be going crazy right now. I began to sit up. "Slowly," a deep voice instructed. There was a muffled sound of someone coming closer. "You hit your head hard." Thanks for pointing it out, mysterious stranger. Everything ached, including my head. My hand reached for my forehead. There was a bandage covering part of it. "Just lie back down for now." I tried to say something, but all that came out was a small noise. I regretted how dark the room was. "You need to rest." His hand pressed me against the pillow. It felt strange – his hand was absurdly warm for a human being.

"Who are you?" I barely squeezed out.

He laughed. "Let's just say I'm here to help."

"You're not a…?" I couldn't put it to words that wouldn't be taken offensively.

"No, I'm a good guy." His voice was still full of laughter. "You don't need to worry." Very reassuring.

"How can I be sure when I can't see anything?" I mumbled in an unsure tone.

He laughed again. It was a deep noise. I sort of liked it. "I guess it'll just have to be blind trust." I rolled my eyes. I sensed he could see me better than I could see him. Maybe my eyes were still adjusting. "Calm down – I won't hurt you." I took in a deep breath and sighed, frustrated. "Here, if you tell me your name, I'll tell you mine."

"Fair enough. Bella." Diplomatic; that was a good sign. I imagined him nodding. Maybe I could convince him to leave if he was so willing to be cooperative.

"Bella, I'm Flame."

"That's not funny."

"What's not funny?"

"What – are you like Sting or something? Only one name that really is a noun and not a name?"

"Well, I suppose you're right, but I'm not a rock star."

"If you're not a rock star, why do you only have one name?"

"Because I'm…a hero."

Oh…right. That explained everything. The secretiveness, the only-one-name thing. I felt insanely stupid. "So…let me guess. You're a person who controls fire, right?"

The next thing he said sounded surprised. "Yeah…how'd you guess?"

"You go by Flame…and your hand is insanely warm." Flame laughed again. "I'm not joking. When you pushed me back down, it was like a burning sensation."

"Sorry about that. I have no control over that aspect." I relaxed against the pillow. I could hear that he was sitting down somewhere…either a chair or the end of the bed. I could feel the area near my feet sloping down. He must have sat on the bed.

"Is it really that dark in here?" I muttered, still waiting for my eyes to adjust.

"Somewhat. You also have a bandage that covers your eyes," he told me calmly. Flame seemed calm in general to me, but I still couldn't see anything.

"What?" I began to panic. "Did something happen to my eyes, or…shouldn't I be in a hospital or something?" Normally, I wouldn't freak out too bad about a cut or something. When you work with young kids, you see far worse than a little scratch. However, when you can't see anything, you panic a bit more.

Flame let out a small chuckle. "No, no, your eyes are fine…I ran after you to try and catch you, but you were trying to get away. I got your wrist, but you slipped and started to fall. I tried to catch you as quickly as I could, but you hit your head on a brick or something and got a pretty nasty gash. You also at least twisted your ankle, but it's probably worse than that." I felt something brush against my forehead through the bandage. I assumed it was his hand, especially since it was warm. "I would have taken you to the hospital, but…"

"But what?" I whispered, running the edge of the sheet through my fingers…well, at least I think it was a sheet.

"After you hit your head, I sort of…used my power without thinking and it got your wrist some. It'd be sort of hard to explain," his tone sounded guilty about what had happened.

I nodded a little. "So, sort of home care…but for how long?" I started to think more rationally. "I have to go to work on Mon…tomorrow, and my dad needs me there…"

I felt something encase my hand…something warm…his hand. "Bella, you need to rest. When I got there, you were freaking out. You could be going through post-traumatic stress syndrome and you need to stay off your feet for a while. You twisted your ankle some too, at least, when you slipped."

"Great," I muttered angrily. I needed to be at work and my dad and Garrett needed me too. I couldn't just disappear off the face of the planet for a week or less. He began to laugh about it. "What's so funny?" I shot back at him, not seeing the hilarity…well, not seeing anything at all.

"You're getting angry because you _can't_ go to work," he said calmly, his voice still filled with mirth. "I've never seen anyone get so upset about _not_ going to work."

"Well most people don't work where I do," I murmured, slightly frustrated. I couldn't understand why he found everything so funny. Was work, family, and _normalcy_ so hilarious to a superhero? He probably never had problems like this.

"You should get some rest," Flame broke the silence. "You need to try and get better."

"I need to get up, get used to everything before going back tomorrow," I told him with an even tone. Against superhero advice or not, I would go and be with the kids tomorrow.

"Sleeping allows your body to heal faster, and you need to stay off your ankle and give it time to heal."

"I'm not tired," I claimed right before yawning. Flame began to laugh. "Traitor," I murmured under my breath in reference to my body.

"Go on, close your eyes. You'll be asleep in no time." His voice was soothing. It only tried to lull me to sleep more. "I'll be right here when you wake up." I tried to tell him that wasn't necessary, but it came out as a soft hum. Well, maybe I could close my eyes for a few minutes.

_Please review! Hope you enjoyed!_


	4. Chapter 4

A few minutes turned into hours

Never in a million years did I imagine this happening…to me, of all people.

Okay, so here's a new one…yep. Enjoy.

**DISCLAIMER: No own.**

_**Savin' Me – Chapter 4**_

A few minutes turned into hours. I was out like a light bulb. He'd probably planned it that way. Stupid, overbearing, planning ahead of time hero…no matter how hot he sounds. No pun intended. When I woke up, it was brighter than before. The bandage still covered my head. The sound of paper turning was the only sound. Flame must've been reading the paper…no idea where he got it though. I don't get the newspaper. I sat up slowly, half expecting Flame to 'come to my rescue' and tell me to be careful. Ha. Me and careful are like lawyers and humanitarians: exact opposites. I picked up my pillow, leaning it against the backboard of my bed before reclining back. I heard the paper rustle again. "Good morning," Flame said. "Sleep well?"

"Immensely," I replied, still very aware of how he'd told me to sleep when I didn't want to.

"Would you like some breakfast?" he asked. I think he was sitting the paper down. Probably on the chair I kept in my room. He must've gotten up.

I moved my head around, as if I would magically be able to see through the cloth and look at a clock. "What time is it?"

"I'm not sure what you've got around here, but I'm sure that we can make something edible." He was ignoring me. That only made my feelings of slight animosity towards him fueled a bit more.

"Tell me what time it is. I don't care about food," I told him sternly. Geez, it's like I was talking to one of the little kids at the daycare center. He was certainly disobedient like one…at least in my eyes.

"It's about ten in the morning," Flame finally told me, a bit of regret held in his tone.

"What?!" I inquired, beginning to freak out. I shoved the covers off.

"Just stay put. You're not going anywhere," he told me. Well, he was definitely up now. I was going to speak my mind rather than take time to think about this.

"The hell with that. I'm going to work today," I threw my legs over the edge of the bed and shoved myself off. I went to take one step and began to fall. Flame gently caught me in his arms.

"You know, you're rather defiant," Flame commented, pulling my legs up into his arms so I was completely off the floor.

"_I'm_ defiant?" I questioned before informing him, "I've worked with five year olds who are more cooperative than you."

Flame began to laugh as he sat me back down on the bed. "Five year olds? You know, I don't think I've heard that one before."

I would've given anything to glare at him right now. "Once again, I do not see the hilarity of the situation."

"Only you could get so worked up about the littlest things, Bella." Flame brushed some of my hair back off my shoulders. "Really, it's all right that you're missing work."

"Says you," I muttered angrily. I needed to be there. It is crucial for them to have stability during these years. Missing one day could possibly mess them up forever, and here he is, telling me it's one hundred percent fine for me to screw up their lives. That only made me take a dislike to him more.

"Hey, I'm sure you've got some sleep aids in this apartment somewhere," he teased me. I resisted the urge to stick my tongue out at him. I didn't quite understand how one person could make me feel so childish and incompetent when not even rebellious children could achieve that. "So, what exactly do you do for a career?"

"I work at a day care center," I murmured, trying to get beyond my feelings of anger and incompetence. No matter how he could evoke such strong emotion in me, he wouldn't possibly continue to do that…would he? I imagined him nodding in response from the silence. "What?"

"Rather unique profession. You don't meet day care workers very often," he answered with what I hope was truth. All of the teasing and things from before that were in his voice was gone. He must've been sincere with this. "I'm not sure what you have here for food, but what would you like for breakfast?"

"Um…I don't really keep food around here," I admitted guiltily.

"You don't keep food in your apartment?" Flame asked, sounding rather incredulous.

"Only health bars and some juice," I answered softly. I'm not home enough to need food around. I'm always at my father's house, so all I really need is something for breakfast. He sighed, frustrated. I could sense him getting off the bed. He must have gone to check my refrigerator to see if I was only trying to get him to leave. The refrigerator door opened and shut.

"Remind me before you fall asleep again to get some food for your apartment," he remarked, sitting back down on the bed.

"You don't need to do that," I told him.

"Hey, you're not going to get rid of me that easily," he informed me. "Under no circumstances should you be on that ankle, unless you want to break it worse."

Dang. Reasoning. Tends to work a lot. I groaned with a sigh added in. "Fine. Whatever," I muttered. Great. Looks like I can't just get him to leave me in peace. Stupid do-gooder personality…or maybe just because he's a superhero.

Time passed slowly. The television was on, but not seeing the picture made it less enjoyable. I couldn't read either. Most of the time, I drifted in and out of sleep. As far as I could tell, Flame was still keeping watch over me. It was rather boring. I wished that I could rummage around for my personal CD player. That's one thing that couldn't be ruined by my inability to see.

When I hoped he wasn't watching, I leaned over to my bedside table and felt around for the smooth, cool contours of the machinery. I was thankful for leaving my headphones attached to it. I hit the play button when my headphones were on. The music transported me into another world that felt much better than the one I was currently in. I allowed my eyes to shut as I relaxed against the pillow. The music allowed me a little more restfulness in my partial sleep. It didn't seem to matter anymore that I couldn't see, as long as I had music.

The rest of the day and the following one passed this way. Flame and I lived off of the granola bars, juice, and water. I listened to music and slept most of the time. I wasn't quite sure what Flame was doing during this time period, but I could figure that he was at least reading the newspaper. I wanted to take a shower desperately, but as long as he was around, I was trapped in my bed. Now that I was aware of the strength of my ankle, I knew what I was capable of when it came to walking.

I didn't see why he stayed around anymore. I mean, I could perfectly handle myself alone. Plus – the sooner he left, the sooner I could return to my life. I couldn't even imagine what was happening with my family, my friends, my coworkers, everything. I cringed at the sheer thought of it. I was beginning to miss the taste of real food. I'm sure that Flame felt my pain. After all, if he never left my apartment, he had to have also been craving something. Pizza was what was on my mind. Even just a slice of pizza with pepperoni and perfectly melted cheese…warm crust…what I would've given for that taste in my mouth…

"Bella?" his voice broke through my fantasy of the perfect pizza. This was about the first time he'd spoke to me since the previous morning. I quickly paused my music and took out my ear phones. "Would you be all right if I went out and got some actual food for us before dinner?"

My heart leaped at the mere suggestion of it. "Yeah, I'd be fine, sure," I tried not to sound too thrilled at the idea. It must've been afternoon if he was implying dinner would consist of actual food.

I could hear the movement of him getting up and the carpet under his feet. He was headed for the doorway, but stopped. "Please, don't do anything stupid while I'm gone." He left the room.

I scowled. Honestly, what kind of stupid thing could I do? Jump out the window? Run away? Now, getting up and doing some needed things, that I couldn't guarantee Flame.

_So, there's the new chapter. I'll update soon. Please review._


	5. Chapter 5

Never in a million years did I imagine this happening…to me, of all people

Never in a million years did I imagine this happening…to me, of all people.

For those of you who don't read my other story, Spark, here's the condensed version of what my author's note was there. Busy at school with the end of it and all, writer's block, didn't write for a month, trip to see Wicked and family for a week with no internet, went to work camp, met my wonderful boyfriend who inspired me to write again. Get it? Got it? Good! Let us commence with the new chapter!

**DISCLAIMER: No own.**

_**Savin' Me – Chapter 5**_

Now that Flame was gone, I could do some things that I couldn't do around him. I really didn't care that he said I needed to stay off my feet and I still couldn't see, but the hell with it. I carefully got out of the bed and held my hand out. My bed stand was still there, so I began to trace my hand against the wall. I knew the patterns and where everything was in my apartment. Carefully as I could while limping, I avoided my bedroom door that was open and went into the bathroom that was attached to my bedroom. I used the restroom (a relief to do on my own) and found where I kept the washcloths and ran it under water. The cool relief of the water felt fantastic on my face. I realize now that could have indicated infection, but I wasn't thinking clearly. I pulled out a towel with the intent to take a shower before reaching for the glass sliding door. "What are you doing?" an all too familiar voice asked.

I turned towards the door. "I just needed to do some things," I told him calmly.

Before I knew it, I was swept off my feet and into his arms. I began to protest, flailing around a little. He put me down on my bed. "I thought I told you to stay off your feet," Flame told me, still not angry.

"Yeah, well…" I started but paused. How was I supposed to respond to that? He began to laugh. "Why do you always find things so funny?" I asked him, exasperated.

"I find it _entertaining_ that you get so fed up over things that are rather trivial," Flame answered me. "Most people would enjoy the fact that they've been off work for a few days. So, what were you attempting to do in there?"

"I was going to take a shower," I grumbled, "and some other things so I don't look as crappy."

He laughed again. "I must commend you though. You made it from your bed to your bathroom without running into anything without being able to see. Not many people could do that."

"I know my apartment pretty well," I murmured.

"We can probably take that bandage off your forehead now…should see how that's healing." I could feel his hot hands brushing against my forehead. He worked quickly, pulling away the bandage. "Okay, open your eyes," he instructed. Slowly, I opened them. My room was very well lit and Flame sat on the edge of the bed, facing me. At first, I didn't know what to think. True, he was wearing a mask and a superhero outfit with a leather jacket over it, but he had dark brown eyes with slightly darker hair to match, which also had red streaks and was pulled back. He was pretty hot, especially for being in a superhero mask. "You can see me, right?"

"Uh, yeah…" I answered him, looking away. My brain couldn't comprehend that he was gorgeous. "So, this is Flame?" I inquired, trying to turn the conversation away.

He laughed. It was nice to finally connect the voice and laughter that were so familiar to a body for once. "I'm afraid so. It's not much, but…"

"No…it's fine," I gave him a small smile. That's when it hit me. "Oh shoot, I need to call work," I reached for the phone on my bedside table.

Flame caught my hand. "I don't think you have to worry about it." I looked at him curiously. What was he talking about? "Here," he picked up the remote off the bedside table and pointed it at the television, clicking the on button. The machine sprang to life as Flame changed the channel to the news.

"In other news, the woman who was saved by Flame had been identified, but still remains missing," the anchor woman began in. "She has been identified as Bella West, a young local daycare worker. West was walking downtown a week ago when attacked by a thug near a dark alley. Resident superhero Flame responded to the call and hindered the man enough that he could not fight back. Neither West nor Flame have been spotted since that day." She went onto another story.

I put my head in my hands. I jumped back slightly from the feeling of my hand on the gash, but got over it pretty quickly. "Oh no," I moaned.

"What? Most people would be excited to be on the Maxville news," Flame readjusted his sitting position.

"This means that the kids know, and my dad and my family will be freaking out…" This was not good. I couldn't suddenly become an icon of the city. It would ruin the nice life I've built for myself since I was 17. I personally enjoy being somewhat of a nobody in this large city. If I had wanted to be a well known person, I would have gone into theatre or music or whatever, not daycare. Plus – I'd rather be around little kids than a bunch of actors or music people any day.

"You know, you've never told me much about your family," Flame commented, glancing at the television before turning the volume down a little.

"Maybe that's because it's more complicated than you'd think," I defended myself. I don't discuss my family life. It's too much to think about right now, especially after my mom…I just don't talk about it anymore.

"By the way, you've got a fair amount of messages on your machine," he said. "Your dad and some guy were looking for you, along with some people named Kate and Robert."

"Oh no," I moaned, leaning back against my pillow. I wasn't even sure if I wanted to even know what they had said. On one hand, they could be worried and just checking up on me. On the other, they could be overly freaking out and calling repeatedly. I took a deep breath. "What did they say?"

"Well, your dad was just calling in to make sure you're all right. Same with a guy named Garrett," Flame recited. "Kate and Robert were freaking out a little after a while. They wanted to know if you were okay, what happened, etcetera, etcetera."

"Great," I murmured, brushing my hair back briefly with my hands. "I disappear off the face of the world for three days and they go crazy." This would be quite the story for all of them. Of course, I would omit some things…like my blatant disregard for the rules in place…and the fact that a guy had been in my apartment for three days straight.

"So, I'm curious," Flame asked me, a teasing hint in his tone, "who's this Garrett guy? Your boyfriend?" My face contorted up in a look of disgust. Flame began to laugh.

"Are you kidding me? Garrett's my older brother," I answered, trying to regain my composure from the sheer thought of my _brother_ being my _boyfriend_. My stomach growls. I wish that it hadn't done that. It only gave a hint to Flame that I was hungry, but I really didn't want to eat.

"Was that your stomach?" Flame inquired suspiciously, watching me with great intent.

"No," I spurted out without thinking. Well, it would've been my response anyways. Flame raised his eyebrows at me. "I swear, that wasn't my stomach." He shrugged it off, turning back to the television. I reached for the book sitting on my bedside table. Flame left my room. I really didn't care. Well, now that I could read, things weren't half as boring. It felt weird, not being in the dark, but I guess it was a pretty good thing…other than the fact that it only made me want to get out of bed and do some things. Like clean up my room a little. I suppose I hadn't given much thought to keeping my room entirely clean before. And now that I could see, it only made me grimace a bit more.

"Hey, what's the address here?" Flame asked from the doorway.

"What?!" I questioned, beginning to freak out and throwing my bookmark in my book. "Why?!"

"Considering that you should under no circumstances be on your feet and you don't have that much to cook with, I'm ordering pizza," he leaned against the doorframe, his tone in a matter of fact way. Oh, of course…pizza…that so figures. "Do you have a preference as to cheese or pepperoni?"

"Um…no, not really," I mumbled softly as Flame went back out to the rest of my apartment. I picked up my book, feeling like an idiot of the worst sorts. Pizza. Why didn't I think of that? What else would he be doing with a phone? Calling a psychic hot-line? Or a hot-line of…ahem, other sorts? Yeah, right. Flame came back, sitting back down in the chair and watching the television. "Uh, how exactly are we supposed to keep it secret about who I am and you being here if you ordered pizza?" I inquired quietly.

"I gave our orders to my friends and they're going to bring it here. They're trustworthy," he assured me. I shifted nervously in my bed. "Really, don't worry. They're both superheroes. They won't say a word." Flame got up and went into my bathroom, returning with some bandages. "We should probably bandage that foot again." He gently moved the sheets and lifted my foot up, propping it on a pillow.

I hadn't gotten a look at it before, but my ankle was encased in bandages to the point where it was certainly more protruding than normal. Flame, just as before, unwrapped it quickly and with ease. When he reached the bottom of the layers of bandages, a taped down white piece of gauze held some splints down. Trying to make is as painless as possible, he took off the gauze. The splints fell to the bed. I grimaced a little. My ankle was scratched up fairly well. "Was there glass or something?" I brought up, trying not to distract him from appraising the damage too much.

"There were some sharp objects and edges involved, glass is definitely a possibility," he murmured, placing the splints back and tacking them back down under a clean piece of gauze. He must've put some sort of antiseptic on it because it stung. I cringed a little. "Sorry. It's one of the few ways to keep it clean and healing better."

"Its fine," my voice was hardly above a whisper. He finished taping it down when a knock came at the door. It must be his friends with the pizza. Flame went to get it, leaving the bandages on the bed. Glancing around, I took them and went ahead and carefully wrapped it around my ankle. Soon, he came in with two plates and a pizza sized box. The sent of the pepperoni pizza I had been craving this morning wafted in with the box. My mouth watered. I mused about him being telepathic as well, but dismissed it as he put a slice on each plate and handed me a plate. He blinked for a moment as I attacked the pizza, taking a hungry bite out of it. I stopped, watching him for a moment. "What?" I asked after swallowing my first bite.

"Wow," he commented. "I've rarely seen a girl that hungry." I glanced down before he smiled. "That's a good thing." Flame began to eat his pizza and I returned to mine. It felt like heaven. The tomato sauce…the dough…the pepperoni…the cheese. Perfection. Everyone knows that pizza is amazing in general, but after only having granola bars and juice for a few days, it's just about the best thing you've ever had. Within moments, we had bother devoured a minimum of two slices. It made me feel better to know that Flame had been just as hungry.

By the time we were done, there were two or three slices left. We had eaten most of it rather quickly. It had been, by far, one of my top meals in my life. Flame had put the dishes in my dishwasher. I was beginning to drift off to sleep faster and faster now that we had had a proper meal. You know, when you've had a meal so wonderful and/or large (compared to what has been eaten recently), you just want to fall asleep the minute you're done. Flame was watching some show on the television as I fell into a deep, restful sleep.

_Hope you enjoyed! Pretty please review!_


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